Blue Jackets: Possible Nash deal casts long shadow

6:51 a.m. EST, June 22, 2012|Aaron Portzline, Columbus Dispatch

Originally from The Columbus Dispatch

PITTSBURGH --Steamy, sticky air prevailed around Consol Energy Center yesterday, the kind of swelter that seems out of place amid a draft for hockey players. No place on Earth, however, is as hot and itchy as the collar of Blue Jackets general manager Scott Howson.

Howson has never juggled so many franchise-altering decisions, never been the focal point of action in the NHL quite like he is today.

As the first round of the NHL draft looms tonight, Howson is weighing trade offers for the franchise's biggest star, Rick Nash. He is deciding what to do with the highest pick the Jackets have ever carried into a draft, No. 2 overall, and he could be on the verge of making a trade for a starting goaltender.

He's permitted to breathe next month, but only if Nash is traded.Howson met with Nash's agent, Joe Resnick, yesterday afternoon for an hour. Nash's camp is getting restless, hoping the trade Nash requested in January doesn't linger past tonight, much less into July or beyond. Howson, meanwhile, continues to swing the only hammer he holds --the vow that he won't trade Nash unless the deal helps the Blue Jackets.

Howson said he wasn't close to accepting any offers for Nash.

"Not at all," he said. "A lot of things can happen between now and when the draft is over. I'm not counting on anything. Obviously, our goal is to do what's best for the hockey team, and that's how we'll continue to operate."

Howson has had talks regarding Nash with at least seven clubs --the New York Rangers, Philadelphia, San Jose, Carolina, Toronto and Ottawa are believed to be in the mix --while a handful of others clubs have made inquiries.

Nash has a no-trade clause in his contract, and he has provided the Blue Jackets a list of clubs to which he would approve a deal. Howson has not been working off Nash's list, hoping that by widening the pool of contenders he will get better offers. The further hope is that Nash would OK a trade to certain teams not on his list.

Asked if the relationship between Nash and the Blue Jackets --which has remained peaceful and respectful --could turn sour if Nash wasn't traded soon, Howson said: "I don't sense that at all." Nash and Resnick have declined public comment.

Meanwhile, Howson might have another trade in mind involving the No. 2 overall pick. He already has fielded offers, he said."We're not interested in moving up," Howson said, shooting down the possibility of a flip with Edmonton. "We're going to stay at No. 2, or we're going to move down. There are a few possibilities in terms of us moving back. If we stick at two, we're pretty confident in the player we're going to take."

If the Blue Jackets do stay put, they won't pick a player simply based on his ability to contribute immediately. That could be a hint that the Jackets are shying away from winger Nail Yakupov or defenseman Ryan Murray, considered the top two prospects and two players closest to being NHL-ready.

"We want the best player who we think is going to be the best player," Howson said, "not necessarily the best player today."

The Blue Jackets think many of their woes from last season, when they finished last in the NHL with 65 points, could be fixed if their goaltending improved.

The goaltending market --via trade and in free agency --was thin at the start of the offseason and has only gotten thinner. Thomas Vokoun (Pittsburgh), Josh Harding (Minnesota) and Anders Lindback (Nashville) are off the market, which might leave Roberto Luongo (Vancouver) as the best-known available option. The Blue Jackets would be reluctant to take on a 33-year-old with 10 years remaining on a contract at $5.3 million a season. But Luongo might seem more palatable than bringing Steve Mason back as the starter. Barring a trade for Luongo, the Blue Jackets might wait to find a goaltender during free agency, which opens July 1.Jonas Gustavsson (Toronto) is the best available free-agent option.